Extended play lottery game

ABSTRACT

A lottery game system includes a lottery authority or game administrator which provides a central system for game management play. The game includes the base attributes of a conventional lottery game and ticket. The lottery game includes numbers or balls from a first pool, which may include a bonus number. The lottery game also includes numbers or balls from a second pool which are associated with one or more commercial merchants. The matching of a player&#39;s selected number to the randomly selected second pool enables the player to claim a merchant related award or prize which is separate from the lottery award or prize.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Applicant claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No. 62/585,176 filed Nov. 13, 2017 and entitled “EXTENDED PLAY LOTTERYGAME”.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to lottery games, and specifically tolottery games which include an extendable option of play.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Gaming tickets have existed for decades. A gaming ticket may include anytype of wager placed upon a sporting event, game of chance, or otherwage type play. One of the most common types of such gaming ticket is alottery ticket.

The most common type of lottery game is generally referred to as lottogames and are based on the concept of the player selecting specificnumbers. The games usually involve players picking their own numbers orusing a computer or some other mechanism to choose the numbers, in anattempt to match the numbers against those drawn by the lottery at alater time. Typically, the game involves a pool of numbers to choosefrom and a corresponding quantity of balls each having one of the uniquenumbers in the pool. The lottery then draws the designed quantity oflottery numbers, such as three, five or six numbers, using the balls anda top prize is won if all numbers match in any order. This type oflottery game also provides monetary prizes for matching less than thetotal number of lottery drawn winning numbers.

In some instances a bonus ball can be added to a lotto game. Here, forexample, instead of playing a game with six balls from one common pool,the game includes the selection of five balls from a first pool and asixth bonus ball from a separate, second bonus pool.

With any of these lottery type games, the player is limited to prizes,typically monetary prizes, which are designated by the lottery system.Such a prize allotting system is restrictive and limited in nature.

It thus is seen that a need has long existed for a lottery game whichmay extend the game playing ability of the lottery and be able toprovide a variety of prizes in addition to the standard game prize.Accordingly, it is to the provision of such that this invention isprimarily directed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a lottery gaming system embodyingprinciples of the invention in a preferred form.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the lottery game of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference next to the drawings, there is shown a lottery gamingsystem 10 in a preferred form of the invention. The lottery gamingsystem 10 includes a lottery authority or game administrator 12 whichprovides a central system to persist and retrieve various informationrequired for game management play such as authority information, gameinformation, draw information, retailer information and other similarinformation. The game administrator may also be used for wagermanagement with information such as ticket serial numbers and specificgame, draw, panel, component options selected by the player. The systemcould be hosted on premise upon servers or cloud based hosted on virtualinstances of computing resources such as to services, databases, queues,file storage, internet web servers and other associated resources.

The game itself includes the base attributes of a conventional lotterygame and ticket. The lottery ticket 30 is imprinted with the date ofpurchase, a unique ticket identifier, an award validation attributeswhich usually describe the game identifier, the draw identifier, a drawdate, and the player selected numbers or other attributes of the wager.The draw date identifies the date upon which the winning numbers areselected and subsequently validated or claimed. The ticket may alsoinclude an authority authorized retail identifier and an authorityauthorized retail terminal identifier which provides additionalvalidation attributes which identify the location and exact terminalused at that location for the purchase of the ticket. These attributesare recorded by the lottery authority.

The award validation attributes contain information such as the numberswithin a range in one or more sets that match the game rules and numberselection pool for a specific game. An example of game rules might bethat the top prize is awarded to a claimant when the wager attributes ona ticket matches the winning numbers picked at random as a result of adraw. If the ticket's wager attributes (including the player's selectednumbers) are numbers and are 12, 23, and 34 and the draw winning awardvalidation attributes (lottery game's winning numbers) are numbers andare 12, 23, and 34 then a prize (first award or first type award)associated with a winning status for the lottery draw or game is awardedby the lottery authority to the claimant possessing the matching wagerattributes. Of course, the game may also include an award (winningstatus for a first award associated with the lottery authority) forselecting only some of or a subset of the winning numbers.

FIG. 2 schematically shows an electronic ticket 30, in a preferred formof the invention that may be any type of ticket even though the ticketdescribed in detail herein is in the form of a gaming ticket andspecifically to a gaming ticket in the form of a lottery ticket. As usedherein, the term ticket is meant to represent any type of bearerinstrument such as, but not limited to, a lottery ticket, a gamblingticket, a bond, a stock certificate, or coupon.

In the present invention, the game includes the first pool of standardselected numbers and corresponding game balls 40, which may be of anynumber of balls and may or may not include an additional bonus ball 45from a second set or pool of balls. Alternatively, the standard gameballs 40 may all come from a single pool or may each be associated withits own pool (three balls from three separate pools). In a firstvariation of the present invention, a merchant designated additionalball 50 comes from a large pool of merchant designated additional balls,the merchant being a third party which is not the lottery authority.Each merchant designated additional ball 50 is associated with a prizeor award (second award) designated by the commercial merchant associatedwith the merchant designated additional ball 50. For example, thecommercial merchant may be a commercial soft drink manufacturer and theprizes or awards may include discount coupons, free drinks, tickets tosporting events, travel to select sporting events, cash prizes or anyother conventionally know type of prize or award. The comparison andmatching of the player's selected number from the merchant pool ofnumbers to the randomly selected pool of merchant numbers establishes awinning status for the merchant pool game. The winning of the merchantpool game may, or may not, also depend on the matching of at least onenumber from the lottery game.

In use, the lottery game may be played conventionally with the winninguser or player obtaining the award for matching the randomly selectedstandard game balls 40 from the first pool of standard selected numbersin typical fashion, i.e., the winner of the standard lottery gamecollects the prize or award (first award associated with first awardvalidation attributes) as usual through a comparison of the player'sselected numbers to the lottery game's winning numbers. However, withthe additional merchant designated additional ball 50 the play of thelottery game is extended to include the potential for additional prizesor awards, i.e. second awards may be provided which are associated withsecond award validation attributes. For example, should the playerselect a number from the second pool of numbers associated with thelottery drawn selected merchant designated additional ball 50 and thatnumber is compared to and matches the additional merchant designedadditional ball, that player will win the designed prize or awardassociated with that number (or designated prize). The game may awardprizes solely on the proper selection of the merchant designatedadditional ball 50 (by picking the correct number the player winsregardless of the correct selection of the standard game balls 40) ormay require a proper selection of the merchant designated additionalball 50 in combination with the standard game numbers (by picking thecorrect number associated with the merchant designated additional ball50 and the picking of all, or a portion of, the standard game balls 40).

As a second variation of the present invention, the game may alsoinclude the option of having more than one merchant designatedadditional ball 50 which are associated with multiple pools of number orballs, wherein each merchant is associated with one pool of merchantdesignated additional ball 50. For example, a first pool of merchantdesignated additional balls 50 may be associated with a commercial softdrink manufacturer (Brand A), while a second pool of merchant designatedadditional balls 50 may be associated with a commercial drug store chain(Brand B), and a third pool of merchant designated additional balls 50may be associated with a commercial gas station chain (Brand C).

In use, the lottery game may be played conventionally, as previouslydescribed, with the winner obtaining the award for matching the standardgame balls 40 in typical fashion, i.e., the winner of the standardlottery game collects the prize or award as usual, which is illustratedin FIG. 1 as Lottery A 14 to Game A Jackpot Winner 15. However, with theadditional merchant designated additional balls 50 the play of thelottery game is extended to include additional prizes or awards eachassociated with a different merchant. The player may choose a numberassociated with each of the three merchants or at least one of the threemerchants. However, with the additional merchant designated additionalballs 50 (Brand A 22, Brand B 23, and Brand C 24) from each of the threeadditional pools, the play of the lottery game is extended to includeadditional prizes or awards associated with each of the three merchants(Super-Branded Game A 17 by the soft drink manufacturer, Super-BrandedGame B 18 by the drug store chain, and Super-Branded Game C 19 by thegas station chain) resulting in additional awards which may includeBranded Jackpot Winner A 27, Branded Jackpot Winner B 28, BrandedJackpot Winner C 29, and lower prizes which are not “jackpots”.

As a third variation of the present invention, the merchant designatedadditional balls may be associated with more than one entity ormerchant. As such, this variation is similar to the first variationexcept that it includes prizes or awards associated with more than onemerchant contained within a single pool of merchant designatedadditional balls or numbers, i.e., the pool may contain all three of thepreviously identified merchants.

Of course, variations of the merchant specific gaming capabilities ofthe present invention may be included in addition to those specificallyrecited, such as the additional merchant designated additional balls 50being associated with more than one merchant within a single pool ofadditional merchant designated additional balls 50, i.e., the pool ofadditional merchant designated additional balls 50 includes severalmerchant entities.

It should also be understood that the payout for the game may becontrolled in different manners. The payout of the lottery game iscontrolled through the lottery authority, the payer of the merchant gameis controlled by the merchant entity associated with the additionalmerchant designated additional balls 50, or by a combination of thelottery authority and merchant entity.

The payment of the lottery game and/or the merchant game may beaccomplished digitally through the use of digital tickets or the like.Digital bearer instrument, especially lottery tickets, and itsvalidation is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 10,115,264, which isspecifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

It should be understood that a pool of numbers, as used herein, may alsoinclude a pool of any other indicia and is not limited to actualnumbers. For example, the pool may be any alpha-numeric indicia, symbol,image, designation or other graphic which enables one to identify aspecific item from a group of items. The term numbers used herein is forconvenience as people readily associate a lottery with numbers ratherthan any other visual identifier.

As such, a method of playing a lottery game organized by a lotteryauthority comprises the steps of providing a first pool of numbers,wherein the first pool of numbers are associated with the play of afirst lottery game associated with first award validation attributes,the first lottery game providing first awards distributed by the lotteryauthority, providing a second pool of numbers, wherein the second poolof numbers are associated with the play of a second lottery gameassociated with second award validation attributes, the second pool ofnumbers being associated with at least one merchant which is not thelottery authority and which is providing second awards distributed bythe merchant, recording a player's selected numbers from the first poolof numbers, recording a player's selected numbers from the second poolof numbers, randomly selecting a first lottery game's winning numbersfrom the first pool of numbers, randomly selecting a second lotterygame's winning number from the second pool of numbers, comparing therecorded player's selected numbers from the first pool of number to thefirst lottery game's winning numbers to determine a winning status forthe first lottery game, comparing the recorded player's selected numbersfrom the second pool of numbers to the second lottery game's winningnumbers to determine a winning status for the second lottery game, andestablishing an award for the second lottery game based on at least onematch established between the compared recorded player's selected numberfrom the first pool of numbers to the first lottery game's winningnumbers and a match between the compared recorded player's selectednumbers from the second pool of numbers to the second lottery game'swinning numbers for the player.

As used herein, the term ball and number may be used interchangeably asthe ball reflects the number designated upon the ball.

It should be understood, that the terms first, second, third and fourthused herein may vary, especially in reference to the claims, as thedescription of such is sequential, which may change with a givendescription or variation herein or within the claims.

It thus is seen that a lottery game is now provided which extends theplay of the standard lottery game. Although the new lottery game hasbeen shown in its preferred form, many modifications, additions anddeletions, in addition to those expressly recited herein, may be madethereto without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention asset forth in the following claims.

1. A method of playing a lottery game organized by a lottery authoritycomprising the steps of: (A) providing a first pool of numbers, whereinthe first pool of numbers are associated with the play of a firstlottery game associated with first award validation attributes, thefirst lottery game providing first awards distributed by the lotteryauthority; (B) providing a second pool of numbers, wherein the secondpool of numbers are associated with the play of a second lottery gameassociated with second award validation attributes, the second pool ofnumbers being associated with at least one merchant which is not thelottery authority and which is providing second awards distributed bythe merchant; (C) recording a player's selected numbers from the firstpool of numbers; (D) recording a player's selected numbers from thesecond pool of numbers; (E) randomly selecting a first lottery game'swinning numbers from the first pool of numbers; (F) randomly selecting asecond lottery game's winning number from the second pool of numbers;(G) comparing the recorded player's selected numbers from the first poolof number to the first lottery game's winning numbers to determine awinning status for the first lottery game; (H) comparing the recordedplayer's selected numbers from the second pool of numbers to the secondlottery game's winning numbers to determine a winning status for thesecond lottery game, and (I) establishing an award for the secondlottery game based on at least one match established between thecompared recorded player's selected number from the first pool ofnumbers to the first lottery game's winning numbers and a match betweenthe compared recorded player's selected numbers from the second pool ofnumbers to the second lottery game's winning numbers for the player. 2.The method of claim 1 wherein the first pool of numbers includes a firstset of standard selected numbers and a second set of bonus selectednumbers.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the second pool of numbers areassociated with a plurality of merchants.
 4. The method of claim 1further comprising the step of: (J) providing a third pool of numbers,wherein the third pool of numbers are associated with the play of athird lottery game associated with third award validation attributes,the third pool of numbers being associated with at least one merchantwhich is not the lottery authority and which is providing third awardsdistributed by the merchant; (K) recording a player's selected numbersfrom the third pool of numbers; (L) randomly selecting a third lotterygame's winning number from the third pool of numbers, (M) comparing therecorded player's selected numbers from the third pool of numbers to thethird lottery game's winning numbers to determine a winning status forthe third lottery game.
 5. The method of claim 4 further comprising thestep of: (N) providing a fourth pool of numbers, wherein the fourth poolof numbers are associated with the play of a fourth lottery gameassociated with fourth award validation attributes, the fourth pool ofnumbers being associated with at least one merchant which is not thelottery authority and which is providing fourth awards distributed bythe merchant; (O) recording a player's selected numbers from the fourthpool of numbers; (P) randomly selecting a fourth lottery game's winningnumber from the fourth pool of numbers, (Q) comparing the recordedplayer's selected numbers from the fourth pool of numbers to the fourthlottery game's winning numbers to determine a winning status for thefourth lottery game.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein step (I) the awardfor the second lottery game is distributed by the merchant.
 7. A methodof playing a lottery game organized by a lottery authority comprisingthe steps of: (A) providing a first lottery game associated with firstaward validation attributes, the first lottery game providing firstawards distributed by the lottery authority; (B) providing a secondlottery game associated with second award validation attributes, thesecond lottery game providing second awards distributed by a merchantwhich is not the lottery authority; (C) recording a player's first awardvalidation attributes; (D) recording a player's second award validationattributes; (E) initiating play of the first lottery game to determine awinning status for the first lottery game, the first award beingdistributed by the lottery authority to players having a winning statusassociated with the first lottery game; (F) initiating play of thesecond lottery game to determine a winning status for the second lotterygame, and (G) establishing an award for the second lottery game based onboth a winning status for the first lottery game and a winning statusfor the second lottery game.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the firstlottery game includes a first pool of numbers, and wherein the secondlottery game includes a second pool of numbers.
 9. The method of claim 8wherein the first pool of numbers includes a first set of standardselected numbers and a second set of bonus selected numbers.
 10. Themethod of claim 8 wherein the second pool of numbers are associated witha plurality of merchants.
 11. The method of claim 8 further comprisingthe step of: (H) providing a third pool of numbers, wherein the thirdpool of numbers are associated with the play of a third lottery gameassociated with third award validation attributes, the third pool ofnumbers being associated with at least one merchant which is not thelottery authority and which is providing third awards distributed by themerchant; (I) recording a player's selected numbers from the third poolof numbers, and (J) initiating play of the third lottery game todetermine a winning status for the third lottery game, the third awardbeing distributed by the merchant to players having a winning statusassociated with the third lottery game.
 12. The method of claim 11further comprising the step of: (K) providing a fourth pool of numbers,wherein the fourth pool of numbers are associated with the play of afourth lottery game associated with fourth award validation attributes,the fourth pool of numbers being associated with at least one merchantwhich is not the lottery authority and which is providing fourth awardsdistributed by the merchant; (L) recording a player's selected numbersfrom the fourth pool of numbers, and (M) initiating play of the fourthlottery game to determine a winning status for the fourth lottery game,the fourth award being distributed by the merchant to players having awinning status associated with the fourth lottery game.
 13. The methodof claim 7 wherein the second award is distributed by the merchant. 14.A method of playing a lottery game organized by a lottery authoritycomprising the steps of: (A) providing a first pool of numbers, whereinthe first pool of numbers are associated with the play of a firstlottery game associated with first award validation attributes, thefirst lottery game providing first awards distributed by the lotteryauthority; (B) providing a second pool of numbers, wherein the secondpool of numbers are associated with the play of a second lottery gameassociated with second award validation attributes, the second pool ofnumbers being associated with at least one merchant which is not thelottery authority and which is providing second awards distributed bythe merchant; (C) recording a player's selected numbers from the firstpool of numbers; (D) recording a player's selected numbers from thesecond pool of numbers; (E) randomly selecting a first lottery game'swinning numbers from the first pool of numbers; (F) randomly selecting asecond lottery game's winning number from the second pool of numbers;(G) comparing the recorded player's selected numbers from the first poolof number to the first lottery game's winning numbers to determine awinning status for the first lottery game, and (H) comparing therecorded player's selected numbers from the second pool of numbers tothe second lottery game's winning numbers to determine a winning statusfor the second lottery game.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein thefirst pool of numbers includes a first set of standard selected numbersand a second set of bonus selected numbers.
 16. The method of claim 14wherein the second pool of numbers are associated with a plurality ofmerchants.
 17. The method of claim 14 further comprising the step of:(I) providing a third pool of numbers, wherein the third pool of numbersare associated with the play of a third lottery game associated withthird award validation attributes, the third pool of numbers beingassociated with at least one merchant which is not the lottery authorityand which is providing third awards distributed by the merchant; (J)recording a player's selected numbers from the third pool of numbers;(K) randomly selecting a third lottery game's winning number from thethird pool of numbers, (L) comparing the recorded player's selectednumbers from the third pool of numbers to the third lottery game'swinning numbers to determine a winning status for the third lotterygame.
 18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of: (M)providing a fourth pool of numbers, wherein the fourth pool of numbersare associated with the play of a fourth lottery game associated withfourth award validation attributes, the fourth pool of numbers beingassociated with at least one merchant which is not the lottery authorityand which is providing fourth awards distributed by the merchant; (N)recording a player's selected numbers from the fourth pool of numbers;(O) randomly selecting a fourth lottery game's winning number from thefourth pool of numbers, (P) comparing the recorded player's selectednumbers from the fourth pool of numbers to the fourth lottery game'swinning numbers to determine a winning status for the fourth lotterygame.
 19. The method of claim 14 wherein at least one match must beestablished between the recorded player's selected number from the firstpool of numbers to the first lottery game's winning numbers and a matchmust be established between the recorded player's selected numbers fromthe second pool of numbers to the second lottery game's winning numbersfor the player to be awarded the second award distributed by themerchant.